Higher doses of the antibiotic daptomycin proved more effective in reducing mortality among patients with vancomycin-resistant enterococci bloodstream infections, according to findings from a new study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Disease.
While the Food and Drug Administration has not approved daptomycin to treat VRE, it is frequently used in such a manner. However, an optimal dose has yet to be established, according to the researchers.
In hopes of determining such a dosage level, researchers conducted an observational study of 112 VRE patients treated with daptomycin. Among these patients, the unadjusted mortality rate was 20 percent for those administered daptomycin doses greater than 9 milligrams for every kilogram of a patient's weight, 33.3 percent for those given 7 to 9 mg/kg and 50 percent among those who received less than 7 mg/kg.
"Higher daptomycin doses were associated with lower mortality in patients with VRE-BSI," concluded the study's authors. "Our results thus suggest that higher daptomycin doses need to be considered for VRE-BSI treatment."
To learn more about VRE, click here.
More articles on infection control:
CDC issues yellow fever travel warning for Brazil
Reducing in-hospital transfers of critically ill neurology patients decreases HAIs, study shows
7 pediatric flu deaths, 1,300+ flu hospitalizations reported in one week